Rail-chair.



A. G. LIEBMANN RAIL CHAIR. APPLICATION FILED APR .2B, 191s. RENEWED DEC. 14, 1914. 1,126,501.

Patented Jan. 26, 1915.

PATENT @FFTQE.

AUGUST Gr. LIEBMANN, OF BUTTE, MONTANA, ASSIGNOR TO VICTNOLES RAIL CHAIR COMPANY, OF NEVJ YORK, N. 5Z1, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

BAIL-CHAIR.

ineaaoi.

Application filed April 28, 1913, Serial No. 764,152.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, AUGUST G. LIEBMANN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Butte, in the county of Silver-bow and State of Montana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rail-Chairs, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to railway track appliance and particularly to rail chairs.

The primary object of the invention is the provision of a very simple form of rail chair particularly adapted for straight tracks in dry sections of the country such as the desert sections of the United States where there is considerable saline action and where, therefore, it is necessary that the chair should be made of malleable steel in order to resist this saline action.

A further object of the invention is to provide an adjustable rail chair adapted for holding rails in fixed position, allowing, however, for an adjustment of gage and permitting shimining without disturbances of the primary fastenings whereby the chair is held to the ties.

A further object is to provide a chair and means for adjusting the rail therein so constructed as to eliminate any chance of lost motion in the wear of the parts and consequent disalinement of rails, disturbances of gage and the overturning of the rails.

A further object is to provide a chair and rail bracing construction so made that the rail will be supported against vertical thrusts and against lateral thrusts toward the outside of the track.

A further object of the invention is to provide a chair adapted to be used with stock rails at switches, and which is so constructed as to permit the point rail of a switch to move in relation to the stock rail.

Other objects will appear in the course of the following description.

My invention is illustrated inthe accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a tie and rail with the improved chair applied thereto; Fig. 2 is an elevation of the chair, the rail being in section; Fig. 3 is a plan view of the construction shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

In these drawings A designates a tie of any suitable construction and illustrated as a wood tie. B designates the rail, which Specification of Letters Patent.

bed plate firmly down upon the tie.

Patented Jan. 26, 1915.

Renewed December 14, 1914. Serial No. 87?,272.

may be of any suitable form, but is illus trated of standard cross section.

Resting upon the tie is a bed plate 2 periorated at its ends for the passage of a plurality of screw spikes 3. These screw spikes are of the standard form and act to hold the The bed plate is formed of an annealed casting and is provided adjacent one end with an upwardly extending abutment 4 and adjacent the other end with the laterally or inwardly curved abutment 5, this abutment also acting as a rail base clamp. The abutment 4 extends vertically upward and at its base has the full width of the bed plate though the upper portion of the abutment is narrower than the bed plate. It has bracing or buttressing webs 6 which extend downward and outward from the outer face of the abutment 4. The abutment 5 is bent over so as to lie at a slight inclination to the horizontal and so as to receive beneath it one margin of the rail base. This abutment 5 has a length equal to the width of the bed plate 2.

The abutment 4 is formed with a slot 7. Bearing against the rail is a rail brace 8. This rail brace is formed of an angular section of metal adapted to engage with the under side of the head of the rail and against the web of the rail at or near the intersection of the web with the head and is particularly designed to permit the expansion or contraction of the rail vertically. The rail brace is made angular in form and extends downwardly and then horizontally when in position and has a tenon portion 9 which extends through the slot 7 in the abutment 4. This portion 9 of the rail brace is slotted as at 10, this slot being longer than the thickness of the abutment 4-. Disposedwithin this slot 10 are one or more wedgeshaped pins 11. These pins are tapered and are held in position within the slot 10 each by a cotter pin 12 or a bolt.

Disposed between the under face of the abutment 5 and the upper face of the rail base is a longitudinally extending wedge 1.3 which is driven in between the abutment 5 and the rail base and which serves to hold the rail base firmly down upon the seat formed between the abutments.

It is pointed out that the space between the abutments at their bases is somewhat greater than the Width of the rail base and that the rail may therefore be shifted to a certain extent between these abutments. It is to be noted that the abutment 5 overhangs the rail base and that its under side is spaced from the upper face of the rail base and that if the wedge 13 be removed, that a shim may be inserted between the rail and the chair so as to lift the rail. If the shim is thin, then a thin wedge 13 may be inserted between the abutment 5 and the face of the rail base, but if a thick shim is used, then no wedge 13 is used.

The brace is so disposed as to hold the rail against lateral and tipping thrust and for shimming upon the bed-plate. When rails are worn, and it is desired to shift the rail laterally for gage, it is only necessary to drive in the wedge 11. If it is desired to shim, the wedge member 13 may be interchanged for one of less thickness or may be entirely dispensed with, thus allowing the rail to be elevated Within the bent-over abutment.

WVhere rails are spiked down upon a tie it is necessary to Withdraw the spikes entirely in order to shift the rail even the fraction of an inch and this necessitates the work of a section gang before it can be accomplished. The same is true where the rail is to be raised vertically. lVith the present construction, however, it is an easy matter for a section hand to adjust the rail the fraction of an inch when it is necessary, in the manner heretofore described.

It is pointed out that any adjustment of the rail may be made without any disturbances of the primary fastenings, that is the screw spikes 3. This permits the chair to be fastened down permanently upon the tie and very greatly reduces the cost of upkeep and maintenance, and spikes do not have to be continually renewed as is the case where spikes are used for holding the rail in place upon the tie. Furthermore, in view of the permanency of the chair upon the tie, it is found to be practical and economical to treat the tie so as to prolong its life and render it waterproof, and increase its resistance to decay.

This particular form of rail chair and rail support is, as before stated, adapted to be used on a straight track and in level country where the strain upon the rail is relatively small, hence the simplicity of the structure. While the chair might be used in other situations and made of any suitable material, it is preferably made of malleable steel for the reason that malleable steel will resist the saline action of certain soils such as the desert portions of the United States.

A chair constructed as above described could be used with stock rails at switches, as the bent-over abutment 5 will not offer any obstruction .to the passage of the point rail of the switch, and thus allow said point rail to move with relation to the stock rail. This would be impossible, however, without elongation of that end of the base plate upon which the abutment 5 is disposed, and when the chair is used with stock rails at switches, the base plate will, of course, be lengthened the desired distance.

The rail brace, it may be stated, is disposed upon the outer face of the rail so that the brace resists the outward thrust caused by the passing train. It is customary in American practice to slightly cant the rail. It is obvious that this can be done with my improved chair by beveling the face of the tie or bed plate.

Particular attention may be called in connection with the improved rail chair to the oflicial report of the Block Signal and Train Control Board of the Interstate Commerce Commission, this report being dated June 29, 1912, wherein certain requirements are laid down for rail supports and wherein the board says: A fundamental defect in clesign which is most apparent is the failure to realize and appreciate the overturning move ment due to the wheel flange pressure against the head of the rail. It is not suffi cicnt that the tie should support the vertical loads and resist directly horizontal thrusts and the tendency of the track to move laterally and longitudinally, but the overturning movement must be resisted. In order that the tie may properly support the stresses transmitted to it by the rail, a suitable fastening of the rails to the ties is most essential. Further the report states that under conditions existing in a large proportion of the rail roads in this country the means of adjustment of rail to tie must be such as to admit of blocking up or shimming. The board further says that adequate means should be provided for shimming or for widening gage and this means should not involve lost motion and change of adjustment. It is pointed out that the improved rail chair, as heretofore described, conforms to all of the requirements referred to in this report and at the same time that the fastenings are not of a complicated nature and that the chairs may be made relatively cheap.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim is:

1. A rail chair including a bed-plate, abutments spaced from each other a distance greater than the width of a rail base, a later ally movable rail-engaging member mounted upon one of said abutments and having a head engageable with the web of a rail and being less in height than the height of the rail web whereby to permit the rail to be vertically adjusted relative to the rail-engaging member, and means for shifting the rail brace laterally.

2. A rail chair comprising a bed plate, abutments carried by the bed plate and spaced from each other a distance greater than the Width of a rail base, one of said abutments being slotted, and a rail brace adapted at its inner end to engage With the rail, a portion of said rail brace being slotted and extending through the slot in said abutment and tightening Wedges disposed in said slot and engaging said abutment.

3. A rail chair comprising a bed plate, an inwardly curved abutment adjacent one end of the bed plate and adapted to engage over the base of a rail, a vertical abutment adjacent the other end of the bed plate and spaced from the first abutment a distance greater than the Width of a rail base, and a rail brace carried by the said last-named abutment and laterally adjustable thereon.

4:. A rail chair of the character described including a bed plate, an abutment formed upon the bed plate and engaging the margin of a rail base, a vertical abutment spaced from the first-named abutment a distance greater than the Width of the rail base, said last-named abutment being longitudinally slotted, an angular rail brace having a horizontal portion adapted to pass into said slot and said horizontal portion being slotted, the length of the slot being greater than the Width of said abutment, Wedges disposed in said slot and engageable With the abutment, and means for holding the said Wedges from removal.

5. The combination With a rail and a tie,

of a chair resting upon the tie and supporting the rail, said chair comprising a bed plate and having adjacent one end an overturned abutment adapted to engage over the margin of the rail base, and also having a vertical abutment adjacent the other end of the plate and spaced from the first abutment a distance greater than the width of the rail base, said last-named abutment being longitudinally slotted, a rail brace angular in form and engaging at its inner end with the rail beneath the head thereof, the outer portion of the brace being horizontal and adapted to pass through the slot of the abutment, said horizontal portion being slotted, a Wedge disposed between the first-named abutment and the rail base, and Wedges disposed Within the slot of the horizontal portion of the rail brace and by Which said rail brace may be laterally shifted.

6. The combination With a bed-plate having an overhanging abutment and a vertical abutment, of a rail adapted to rest on the bed-plate or on a shim and adjustable vertically and laterally between said abutments, and means cooperating with the rail and abutments for holding the rail in different positions of lateral and vertical adjustment.

In testimony whereof I aFfiX my signature in presence of tWo Witnesses.

AUGUST G. LIEBMANN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0. 

